The member of Generation Z are eager to get into investing, putting their first money into the markets when they are young adults and often while they are still in college. New research from the World Economic Forum out this week shows 30% of Gen Z started investing early vs. 9% of Gen X and 6% of Baby Boomers.
By the time they enter the workforce, 86% of Gen Z, generally considered those born between 1997 and 2012, have learned about personal investing versus 47% of Boomers, underscoring a generational transformation in financial habits, the data showed.
Using a survey developed in partnership with Robinhood Markets and Boston Consulting Group, the World Economic Forum surveyed over 13,000 respondents across 13: Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States. The results were reported in the World Economic Forum’s Global Retail Investor Outlook 2024.
“Younger generations and individuals in emerging markets are increasingly interested in investing to build wealth and enhance their financial stability,” Natalya Guseva, head of financial markets and resilience at the World Economic Forum said in a post on the organization’s website.
“Given this sustained shift in investment demographics, it is critical for leaders to reassess the retail investing landscape and ensure individual investors are equipped with the right financial education and investing tools that support their financial goals.”
Besides getting into the action earlier, younger generations are also more open to tech and AI enabled financial advice, the report found, with 41% of Gen Z and Millennials reporting they would allow an AI assistant to manage their investments. Only 14% of Baby Boomers said the same.
“Innovative financial advisory tools, such as AI-enabled products, could fill the gaps where traditional financial advisory may be too expensive or out of reach,” said Stephanie Guild, CFA, senior director, investment strategy at Robinhood.
“Innovations that lower barriers to entry and enrich digital advice with intrinsic guidance, can help make financial advice more accessible, enabling more people to participate in the markets with greater confidence.”
And younger investors are more likely to have crypto holdings: Among investors under 44 who hold cryptocurrencies, more than half allocated at least a third of their portfolio to it, the survey showed. In part that’s because younger investors say they find cryptocurrency easier to understand than traditional instruments such as ETFs, mutual funds, bonds and stocks.
Other highlights from the report:
- Financial priorities are shifting towards short-term needs. In 2024, 51% of investors prioritized emergency savings, up from 41% in 2022, while those focused on having enough to retire dropped from 48% to 42%.
- For non-investors, the biggest barriers were lack of funds and fear of financial loss. More than half say they would have felt more confident investing if they had learned about it in primary school.
- In addition to younger investors being more open to AI driven financial advice, the survey also finds that 48% of individuals from emerging markets across all ages would allow an AI assistant to manage their investments.
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